10 Photographic Assignments to Hone Your Skills

A few months ago I wrote about how setting myself photographic assignments was one of the things that had helped me to improve my photography the most.

The idea was that it is often when you put yourself into a situation specifically for photography that you are forced to practice the theory that you know and you see your photography improve.

The assignments I mentioned were all different types of photography or places to take photos – weddings, road trips, sporting events, festivals, portrait sessions, concerts, trips to the zoo etc.

What I didn’t mention in the post was another set of ‘assignments’ or challenges that I’ve set myself over the years which have also led to a lot of photographic growth.

In these challenges I tend to set myself the challenge to only shoot in one particular way for a period of time (for me it is usually a weekend challenge as that is when i take most of my images).

These challenges all relate to your camera and limiting yourself in some way to either switch off some element of the automated aspects of your camera, limiting yourself to really hone a skill or to practice some kind of technique.

While this isn’t really a natural way to shoot – I find that focusing in on one particular aspect or skill in photography at a time can really help to see improvements in that period of time which means when you next need that skill you’re all ready to go!

Here’s a few suggestions based upon weekends that I’ve done:

The one focal length/lens weekend – either choose a single prime lens or a focal length at one end of a zoom and only shoot at that focal length for a whole weekend (choose one you don’t naturally shoot in a lot). This teaches you a lot about that focal length and makes you think about your composition of your shots.

The one aperture weekend – this can be hard if you shoot a wide range of subjects like I do but choose an aperture and try to stick to it for a period of time. To do this you’ll find it easier if you shoot in Aperture Priority mode – you’ll also probably find it best to choose either to shoot at one end of the aperture spectrum. This will teach you a lot about depth of field and get you thinking also about how to balance shutter speeds and ISO to get well exposed images.

The one shutter speed weekend – similarly to the aperture challenge this can be challenging but spending some time either looking to capture subjects with long or very fast shutter speeds will teach you a lot. To do this shoot in Shutter Priority Mode.

Manual Exposure Mode Weekend – if you don’t venture into fully manual shooting that much set yourself a challenge to shoot in manual mode for a weekend. This is perhaps the best way possible to teach yourself about exposure!

Manual Focusing Weekend – similarly if you rely upon your camera to always focus for you in Auto focus – switch to a weekend of just shooting with manual focus. This will break you out of your laziness and help you to really think about focal points.

Switch cameras– got an older camera in your cupboard that you’ve been neglecting? Perhaps its an old film camera or an old digital camera without all the bells and whistles of your current one? Take it for a spin – sometimes older cameras require you to think more about settings and not rely upon the features of your modern camera. Shooting with film cameras also makes you slow down and get the shot right the first time.

Compositional Rules – pick a ‘rule’ like the Rule of Thirds and try to adhere to it in every shot you take over a weekend. Alternatively choose to break the rule as much as possible but still end up with ascetically pleasing shots.

Explore a Technique – spend a weekend really honing your skills in a particular shooting technique. For example you might like to spend time working on using Fill Flash in your shots – or Slow Sync Flash – or Zoom Blur – or Panning etc

Recreate someone else’s work– one last one that I am borrowing from a friend. My friend chooses an image each week from a photographer that he admires and he sets out to recreate it. While he never passes the shots he takes off as his ideas he finds it useful to analyse the work of others and to then try to recreate those shots – in doing so he finds he learns a lot.

There are of course many more – please suggest your favourite challenges/assignments in the comments section below!

How about selecting one element of visual design and shooting only that element: lines, textures, shapes, etc. Also reflections or shadows are other good topics which provide various challenges to the photographer.

Great article. I like to shoot in manual mode, so number 2 makes me cringe. lol I really like #8 though. I worked on panning a few weekends ago. I want to look deeper into some of those other techniques. Thank you for the ideas.

Momen

You can do self-portraits and commit to a 365 project or at least once a week. You may chose to stick to one color and keep looking for it for a whole period of time or a certain shape. One more trick I heard from someone is to challenge yourself to shoot the most mundane thing you have around you and still make something interesting out of it…

There’s a lot .. you just need to get out there and start shooting!

Scottc

Assignments are great and the suggestions are very worthwhile.

I’ve always done better at “assigned” photographic subjects than self-tasking, but not much better……

This is an excellent idea and often just take one lens and use say one shutterspeed. It disciplines you and gets you out of a rut that you can easily fall into taking the same thing all the time.
It is also fun:

Can I have some tips on how to shot a Normal Subject (Non-Model) and get a Perfect Portrait shot .
How to make the subject more comfortable & get a perfect shot.

Regards

Lara Sargologo

These are great ideas that will definitely help me improve my skills. I have one more: shooting at the same OSI all day no matter what the lighting conditions are.

Ignas

I love the ideas expressed. I would also like to suggest that if you have a few lens, try them. One lens a day on the same street and see the difference between the lenses. If you only have one lens like 18-200m than try with 3 different type of focus length like ( 18mm than 100mm and later with 200mm). Wrap them with plastic so that the lens focal length does not move. This will train yu to apperciate your leans capability and your focal length. Makes you think more which focal length you would want to use when taking future shots.

Thanks for the great read. I recently read an article, probably here, that suggests that you go to a location and just sit for ten minutes thinking about what you want to photograph and how you want to compose your shot. Haven’t tried it yet, but it sounded like something that could really inspire creativity.

Great article with some excellent tips. When you experiment with your gear, you really do learn a lot about the process of photography. Sometimes I’ll try the “take photos from another height level” to see if different perspectives can be found. Sometimes I’ll kneel down and look for subtle patterns or interesting plants on the ground, or climb a tree or small structure to see what else can be seen from above. It’s fun to take a photo of something common but with an uncommon perspective.

kiran moghe

mood focussed, say only smiling, only angry one because moods makes us human being.

Barry E Warren

Not a bad idea, That’s for some challenges.

Brett Ossman

This is pretty cool. I’ll probably try most of them.

Nathan O’Leary

Something I’ve done a bit of is was I call bug light chasing. Basically, chuck the camera on a tripod in the evening or even middle of the night, aim it just past a light (spotlights are great) and expose for a few seconds. Experiment with different speeds, and the bugs turn up as beautiful traces of light. I’d love to see any examples if anyone tries this!

Barry E Warren

Thanks for the ideas, Great read . I ‘ll temp some of these or all, It will take time but that’s something I have a lot of…..LOL

NickProsper

Great tips on this article. A challenge I will be doing this weekend is using a fixed focal length of 50mm or 105mm Macro (still undecided) and I plan on shooting only objects and shapes that represent letters of the alphabet. (A window pane with grills to represent the letter H for example) This will allow me to tune in on thinking outside the box and to help develop an eye for things we wouldn’t normally see from a normal perspective.

Thomas Collins Photgraphy

This is a great idea. So different from the ubiquitous photo blog assignments on the web. Thanks very much for the creative assignments.

Peter W

Last weekend I was confronted with a draining battery while out on a day trip. I turned of my back screen, to save battery. Not beeing able to see what I was shooting, I was forced to pay more attention to my settings. It turned out to be a lot of fun.

Zain Abdullah

My last weekend photography project was shooting this majestic mosque in Kuala Lumpur since the weather was bright with contrasty lighting and blue sky. Take a look at the gallery of the Federal Territory Mosque here http://zain.zenfolio.com/masjidwilayah

SueDL

Thanks Darren for this article. I think it’s a fantastic suggestion. Perhaps people who take up the individual challenges could post it on the DPS flickr page. I notice that the article was just posted on my fb page but some of the comments date back 5 months?

Anyway how about the proposal that each challenge last a month and we can then compare/view the various posts? That way some of us who can’t photograph on certain weekends can still do it within the month.

Great article, I found the #1 to be game changer – but I’d go further and stick with one focal length for much much longer as it will teach you to think about composition even without camera and allow you to focus on creativity.

I’m doing a daily photo challenge and I put together a website with assignments that changes every day. It might help you on those days when you are totally out of inspiration. Have a look at http://photographyassignments.org

Some Older Comments

kiran mogheJune 23, 2013 04:59 am

mood focussed, say only smiling, only angry one because moods makes us human being.

Rich H.June 12, 2012 02:47 am

Great article with some excellent tips. When you experiment with your gear, you really do learn a lot about the process of photography. Sometimes I'll try the "take photos from another height level" to see if different perspectives can be found. Sometimes I'll kneel down and look for subtle patterns or interesting plants on the ground, or climb a tree or small structure to see what else can be seen from above. It's fun to take a photo of something common but with an uncommon perspective.

Mom2my10June 9, 2012 12:44 am

Thanks for the great read. I recently read an article, probably here, that suggests that you go to a location and just sit for ten minutes thinking about what you want to photograph and how you want to compose your shot. Haven't tried it yet, but it sounded like something that could really inspire creativity.

IgnasJune 8, 2012 11:44 pm

I love the ideas expressed. I would also like to suggest that if you have a few lens, try them. One lens a day on the same street and see the difference between the lenses. If you only have one lens like 18-200m than try with 3 different type of focus length like ( 18mm than 100mm and later with 200mm). Wrap them with plastic so that the lens focal length does not move. This will train yu to apperciate your leans capability and your focal length. Makes you think more which focal length you would want to use when taking future shots.

Lara SargologoJune 8, 2012 10:19 pm

These are great ideas that will definitely help me improve my skills. I have one more: shooting at the same OSI all day no matter what the lighting conditions are.

HARESHJune 8, 2012 08:04 pm

Hi
Great Assignments

Can I have some tips on how to shot a Normal Subject (Non-Model) and get a Perfect Portrait shot .
How to make the subject more comfortable & get a perfect shot.

Regards

steve slaterJune 8, 2012 06:26 pm

This is an excellent idea and often just take one lens and use say one shutterspeed. It disciplines you and gets you out of a rut that you can easily fall into taking the same thing all the time.
It is also fun:

This was a good one for me to read, I'm in what seems to be a never-ending slump and I'm going to have a go at some of these ideas to try and get out of it.

Mei TengJune 8, 2012 10:21 am

Thanks for these suggestions. A great way to improve one's photography.

ScottcJune 8, 2012 10:20 am

Assignments are great and the suggestions are very worthwhile.

I've always done better at "assigned" photographic subjects than self-tasking, but not much better......

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lendog64/sets/72157626199404744/

MomenJune 8, 2012 07:38 am

You can do self-portraits and commit to a 365 project or at least once a week. You may chose to stick to one color and keep looking for it for a whole period of time or a certain shape. One more trick I heard from someone is to challenge yourself to shoot the most mundane thing you have around you and still make something interesting out of it...

There's a lot .. you just need to get out there and start shooting!

Marcus S DavisJune 8, 2012 07:25 am

Great article. I like to shoot in manual mode, so number 2 makes me cringe. lol I really like #8 though. I worked on panning a few weekends ago. I want to look deeper into some of those other techniques. Thank you for the ideas.

TracyJune 8, 2012 06:35 am

How about selecting one element of visual design and shooting only that element: lines, textures, shapes, etc. Also reflections or shadows are other good topics which provide various challenges to the photographer.

AlexxJune 8, 2012 03:28 am

Cool post with cool techniques. I typically shoot in manual anyway, so a lot of these don't apply to me, but some like the "explore a technique" I would love to try.

In fact I think I might do that assignment. If I do it will be posted here: http://disney-photography-blog.com/